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D; s. HOWARD.-

' `DREDGING MACHINE.

No. 104,594. Patented JuneA 21"; '1870.

. is mounted the framei (5MM, glatte gaat erna.

D. sfnowa'nn, orftrolvsv FALL-s, NEW YORK'.

Lem-rs V'raamt No. 104,594, dated mme 21, 1ero; @madurar .rune 11, 1870.

'IMPROVEMENT ,m suriname-mesures.

The Schedule'refen'ed to these Lettera Patent and mak-ingpaift of the seme To all whom it may concern: i,

Beit known that I, D.' S, HOWARD, of Lyons Falls', county of Ilelwis, State of New York, have invented certain Improvements in Dredging Machinery; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and

" exact description of the same.

w are required than with other` dredging-machines.

In order to enable others familiar with machinery of this class tomake and use myinvention, I will' now proceed to describeitsconstruction and operation, reference `being had" to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of this specification, and in which Figure l is a` sectional elevation of my improved dredging-machine;

Figure 2, a front elevation of the same;

Figure 3, a plan view; and

Figures 4,6, and 6, `detached .views drawn to an enlarged scale, andfillustrating portions -of .my invention. l l

.Similar letters refertosimilar parts throughout the several views. l

Before `proceeding to describe my invention, it will be well to state` that no dredgggingmachine as heretofore constructed has ybeenfoundequally well adapted' to all kinds of works. p v

Some exeavations,fforinstance, commenced in the water, require to be continued through dry land, and the excavated material t0 bc conducted over the sides of the machine, andfdeposited upon the banks. At other places the heightof thebanks requires the excavated `materialrtofbe putinto lighters, and, as the latter cannot, in all cases,be` placed alongside the machine, the depositsmnstbe `made over the stern,`

` Other work is situated in water of suiicient'depth to liioat the machine and lighters, in which caseanother modification of machinery, economically adapted to the situation, will be required. 4 y

`'.lhereare variations of tlieina-terial also which requireinachnes of very different construction inl their v excavation.

- thus overcome the objections arising from the employ ment 0f a different machine foreach variety of worin' 0n reference .to the" thawingv Arcpresents' the hull of the machine, upon `which 0, is the driving-shaft, to which. motion is commumatted-freni the engine (not shown in the drawing) 'by any suitable'system of gearing, and upon this shaft `are pinions a, gearing into cog-wheels a', of a shaft, D, whi'ehextends entirely across, .and turns in.

suitable bearings in the frame-work B. a

' To the shaft D are' hung lche toothedchain-,wh'eels b Ii -b b, by which the two sets of chains E E and EE' are turned in a manner common to ordinary dredging-y machines. l v

These chains, as'well as the' buckets F, which are attached tothe same, form important features-'of my invention, and will be morefully described hereafter.

arranged to-drive toothed wheels h, similar'tothe latter being supported n'ear each end by two barsgH- are connected by cog-gearing, shown in iig. 1, with a crank spindle, d, by means' oi' which the said' baisanil shaft G may be raised or lowered, as required.

a cylinder, I, which may be made hollow and air-tight, and upon which a number of spiral blades or Scrapers, e, areso'arranged that they shall convey `the material to be excavated from the center toward 'each set oi' buckets; and upon the same cylinder are a number of the cylinder is turned(sec iig.' 2.)

As the hooks f maynot beeqnally we ll adapted for all kinds of work, other appliances cam-"when necessary, be attached to the cylinder or blades.`

In addition to the cylinder I, there are also, at the opposite ends of the shaft G, two shorter cylinders I',

and with spiral blades c, for conveying the material toward the buckets.

After passing over the upper wheels l), the chains E and E do not descend directly to the lower wheelsb', but each set is conveyedv nearly horizontally for a `short distance, and caused to pass around flanged wheels g, whichf'are hung to a shaft, y', arranged to turn in a movable frame, K. v

-One of these frames is shown in iig.` 1, and consists of two side pieces, suitablycnnected together, and supported at one end by rollers, which run upon ascending ways h, and' at the opposite end by toothed pinions t', adapted to racks/i', which are secured to descending ways h'. Y

The pin-ions 'i are hung .to a spindle which can either be` turned by hand by means ofjcranks, or 4be connected byany suitable gearing to the driving-shaft, the carriages being moved by these pinions in vsuch a manner as to permit the'raising or lowering-'of the The lower ends of the chains pass around andare wheelsb, which are hung to a horizontal shaft, G, the

and H', each o f which hason one side' a rack, c, gearing into a pinion, c', and the pinions of the barsH 'Ou' the shaft Gr, between the twosets, of buckets, is Y hooks, j, -whichdigvinto andloosen the material when l likewise furnished with hooksl f, or their equivalents,-

chains of buckets andof the cylindersI and I', and so as-totighten tbe chains after such adjustment.

.A movable spout, L, which is arranged to slide freelyin a stationary spout, M, by which-the excavated material isl deposited over the ste-rn of' the dredge, isso attached to the axis of the hanged wheelsg, at a point adjacent to each set of buckets, that-it shall move with -and always maintain the same position in respect to t-he said flanged wheels.

N, figs. 1 and 3, is a four-sided floating tank, attachedto an extension, B', of the frame B 'at a point about twenty-tive feet to the rear of the machine, and arrangedto be turnedtoany desired position by means of pinions gearing into'a encular mok, 'and'operated by a lever, k..

One object of this tank is to connterbalance theI weight of the machinery, necessarily placed ahead of the hull, in order to enable the dredge to elearits own way, another object being to serve as a means of moving the lighters in which the excavated material is deposited. For instance, an empty lighter can be attached to the outer side of the tank, anda loaded one to the opposite side, lthe tank being then turned half way round so as to change the positions of the two lighters, the empty one being brought to a position beneath the spouts M ready to be filled, while the loaded one is turned to a position most convenient for 'its removal.

The counterbalance may also be uscdas a tankfor the engine, to be filled on commencing work before the water has been disturbed by the dredging.

' My improved dredger is 'operated in a manner similar to that of other machines of its class, it being moved forward as the work is proceeded with by means of tackle attached to a pulley or pulleys anchored at aconvcnient distance ahead.

Motion in the direction of the arrows is communiv cated by the gearing described to the spiral cylinders .I and l', and to the` buckets, which together clear tlie way to the full width of the dredge,and to the deptl. required, the material as it is excavated being carried 'up by the' buckets over the wheels b and g, and `dumped into 'the vspouts L, to be conveyed by the latter to the spouts M, and thence to the lighters, as before described.

'lhe bucket F, shown in the enlarged views, iigs. 4 and 5, is furnished` with a loose bottom, 1J, which, when the bucket is inverted, opens sui'ciently to permit the admission of air into the interior of the bucket,

' and this insures the discharge of the load, however' tenacious the material maybe. Y

hisl bucket, however, is intended to be, used only when the machine is arranged as above described,- that is, for depositing the excavated material at the stern, a bucket of different construction being required when the deposit is to be made over the sides through the spouts a: fig. 2, lo'r at'any Qther'point.

In order to enable the buckets to be charged with facility, and without involving the necessityof sepa.-

iating the links of the chains, I construct the latter in the .manner shown in iig. 6,..each chain beingmadeup. of long and short links s and s, with intervening washers s, and the whole being connected together' by suitable rivets or bolts. v

The buckets are furnished with lugs t, which are introduced into the spaces between -the short links s,"

and fastened by a rod passingtlirough holes in the said links and ings.

This arrangement of links also enables a gang of hooks, or other' device best calculated to loosen the materialto be excavated, to be attached to the chain between the buckets.

It will be observed, on. reference to fig. l, that the working portion ofthe chains is always maintainedjin a perpendicular position, this enabling the usual pulleys, ways, Src., necessary when the chains are worked at an angle, to be dispensed with, and greatly reducing the friction, especially where no lubricating material can be used, nor the wearing parts secured from the destructive. action of sand and water which must always be present in dredging.

The flanged wheels g, also, by maintaining a por'- tion of the chains in a nearly horizodtal position, enable the buckets lto be dumped with facility when a lateral deposit is' to be-made.

In some cases, when there is water, a lighter lcanbeplaced in front of the machine, and buckets lof peculiar construction be arranged to dump into a short spout directly from the perpendicularportion of the chains.

It will be well 4to mention here that the digging and conveying cylinders I and I', if made hollow, can be furnishedgwith stop-cocks, through which water can be passed into-the interior of the said cylinders or discharged from thesame, according to their required weight, and the nature of the material to be excavatcd.

, By the arrangement of the cylinder-shaft on the projecting end ofthe bar H', instead' o f at the lower end ofthe bar H, as heretofore, I ain enabled to bring the chain of buckets to' a vertical position, as shown in fig.` 1, without the necessity of placing the machinery so near the end of the boat as would otherwise be required.

I do not claim, .broadlya shaft provided with a spiral blade which feeds the earth to a chain of buckets, as spiral blades have heretofore been arranged on and secured to arms upon a revolving shaft, but are .inecient, as branches, stones, 85e., catching beneath the blades, and between the arms, wrench the same,

from theA shaft.

The spaces between the' arms also become clogged with earth,` 85o., so as to prevent the blades from carrying the soil laterally, as desired.

'When the blades are'arranged upon a' drum, as above described, they form channels whichcannot become clogged, while it is impossible lfor stones or branches to become entangled with the blades so as to detach the same. v

It will be evident, withoutfurther description, that machinery constructed,` arranged, 'and operating yas above described, will be adapted to a great variety of work, and will be much more economical than machines of a special character, as heretofore constructed.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- Y 1. 'Ihe within described arrangement of the bars H,'H, and cylinder-shaft G, the latter revolving in bearings at the end of the shaft H', and-'the two shafts beingjointed together, 'as specified.

2. The hollowcylinder I, with its spiral blade or blades arranged* on -its face, substantially as described.

'3. The hollow drums or cylinders I, operating as described, nnd provided with cocks, for the purpose set forth.

4, The chains E and E', when composed of long and short 'links s andsg and intervening-washers s.'

5. The buckets F, with their loose bottoms or valves p, arranged to open slightly when aload is to be discharged, as herein described. M

6. The adjustable tank or counter-balance N, at taehed 4to an extension of the, frame at the rear of the dredge, substantially as herein set forth.' v

7. 'lhe carriage K, with its spout L, in combination with the chute M, as described'.

In testimony whereof I havesigned my name to this specification inthe presence of tw'o subscribing witnesses.

D. S.' HOWARD. Witnesses:

E. H. BAILEY, HARRY SMITH.

sufficient depth of-y 

